September 2018
“Jane ” realised she had made the wrong decision the first day at the job that would end her career. The supervisor showed her to a filthy cubicle. The computer keyboard was jammed with food, and what she hoped was hand lotion. When she asked the I.T. support tech for a new keyboard, he looked dubious and a little annoyed.
When her supervisor walked her around her new unit to introduce her to the other staff, many seemed hostile and tense.
“Work isn’t supposed to be fun, that’s why it’s called work.” Jane Smith tried to convince herself. But she felt sick on Sunday nights and most mornings before work.
Depression set in. Jane ended up on stress leave for three months. When she went back to her toxic job, it didn’t take long for the same symptoms to return, and worse. “I started to burn out. Between the toxic upper management and the angry, depressed people around me. That job derailed me – my career and my mental health have never been the same.”